This Thursday, Planned Parenthood will honor Warren’s commitment to reproductive rights during a fundraising dinner in downtown Tampa.
“I’m extremely humbled. I’m being honored for just doing my job and what I was elected to do,” Warren—whose court battle to get his job back hit a dead end last January—told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “I stood up for what’s right as we teach our kids to do, and I hope that the courage I showed is contagious.”
The honor comes less than 150 days after Florida voters failed to push Amendment 4—which would have enshrined the right to abortion in the Florida constitution—past the 60% threshold. In that same election, Warren lost his bid for re-election to the State Attorney’s office, when his DeSantis-appointed replacement Suzy Lopez beat him at the ballot box.
“The best candidate doesn’t always win, especially when the other side cheats—illegally suspending you, then spending millions of dollars lying about you,” Warren said on election night, adding that he was proud of the campaign he ran. “But today’s result doesn’t change the facts: I made Hillsborough safer, improved the system, and fought for our freedoms and values. I want only what’s best for our community, and I hope Ms. Lopez grows into this role to become an effective and independent state attorney—not beholden to the governor or sheriff, but accountable to the people.”
Lopez was seen marching in the Tampa Pride parade last weekend, alongside her LGBTQ+ neighbors loudly celebrating despite the fact that state lawmakers—and Gov. DeSantis himself—continue to push legislation deemed hostile to the community. Warren told CL that he hasn’t made contact with Lopez since the election, but praised her for hiring Statewide Prosecutor Nick Cox as the new Chief Assistant State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit.
“My kids are growing up in this community. I care about what’s best for this community, and I hope that she continues to grow into the role,” he said of his successor.
These days, Warren is enjoying getting more time with his kids and working for the State Democracy Defenders Action anti-autocracy movement. He only thinks about his time in office, or if he would’ve done things differently, when someone asks him about it—which happens a lot.
“As State Attorney, we made dozens, hundreds, of decisions every day. It’s easy to go back and question some of those decisions at a case specific level, because they’re tough questions and tough decisions,” he said. But when it comes to what happened between him and the governor, Warren wouldn’t have changed a thing.
“My standing up for reproductive rights—which at the time were guaranteed by both the United States and Florida constitutions—was just this small aspect of my prosecutorial philosophy, which was maximizing public safety, fighting for victims, seeking justice, being fair, doing what’s right. I never wavered from those goals, and I never wavered from my commitment to defend the rule of law,” he said.
He won’t judge if someone asks him about it at the Planned Parenthood dinner, either.
“Transparency is important, and so as an elected official, I was never a ‘no comment’ type of person. I would always engage. I love talking with people about issues that are important, whether it’s politics or public policy or sports,” he said. “So I welcome questions and it shows people care, and that means a lot.”
And there’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to reproductive rights, but Warren has thoughts about what participants in the fight can do.
“Leadership matters. Honesty, integrity and vision matter, and we see the president, the governor, and too many other politicians who are so driven by politics and by a personal agenda while most Americans, most Floridians, just want their elected leaders to be solving problems,” he said.
Warren acknowledged that there is a deep divide in the U.S. on abortion—but a lot of consensus, too. “We need leaders who focus more on finding common ground to solve problems and less on partisan stunts to promote their own political career,” he added.
At a time when many politicians are coming under fire for not codifying Roe v. Wade when they could, Warren encourages voters and activists to find leaders who can find solutions to problems—even when those leaders don’t vote exactly how they want on every single issue.
“Government doesn’t solve every problem,” he said before pointing to all time lows in the faith in rule of law and elected officials.
“We need to get back to finding that common ground, solving problems, putting aside partisan differences and political ambitions, as much as we can. And I say that to anyone, whether it’s people on the far left, the far right or the middle,” Warren added. “That’s how we get back and then continue to make progress in our country.”
He’s not ruling out another run at some elected office either.
“You never know what the future holds. But right now, I’m happily taking a break from elected office,” Warren—who’ll also receive an honor from Community Tampa Bay this year—said, noting that he’ll always consider any way he might serve his community, state or country.
“I’ve dedicated my career to public service,” he said. “And I’m not walking away from that.”
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This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 2, 2025.